Matilda Fitzroy (c. 1080/1100 – 25 November 1120), Countess of Perche, was among several members of the English royal family who died in the wreck of the '' White Ship'' off Barfleur.

Life

Matilda, or Maud, was an illegitimate daughter of King

Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...

by a mistress identified only as Edith.Her mother Edith held lands in Devon as late as 1130 and so survived her daughter. See Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'', Vol XI (1949), p. 112 note (a). Nothing is known of her mother's family. Her father was the youngest son of

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

and his wife Matilda of Flanders. During the High Middle Ages, illegitimate children were not always acknowledged by their fathers (and so many remained unknown) but Henry I recognised at least 20 of his 'natural' children, including Maud. She was identified as his daughter by

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis (; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...

, who added that the king built up her husband's power by greatly augmenting his estates and wealth in England. Her father gave her lands in Wiltshire as her dowry. In 1103, Matilda married Rotrou III, Count of Perche, as his second wife.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 82 She married at the same time as her half-sister Juliane de Fontevrault. Rotrou was a direct vassal of King Henry in England, where he held fiefs ''jure uxoris'', in right of his wife. He also was given the de Bellelme fief in Normandy at the forfeiture of Robert de Belleme.Geoffrey H. White, 'The First House of Belleme', ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Fourth Series, Vol. 22 (1940), p. 79

''White Ship''

In the wreck of the '' White Ship'', the evening of 25 November 1120, William of Malmesbury noted the fate of the countess:

Family

Matilda and Rotrou had two daughters:Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., ''Royal Bye-Blows, The Illegitimate Children of the English Kings From William I to Edward III'', ''The New England Historical and Genealogical Register'', Vol. 119 (April 1965), p. 96 * Philippa, married Elias II, Count of Maine and had issue * Felicia

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzroy, Matilda 1120 deaths Deaths on the White Ship Illegitimate children of Henry I of England 12th-century English nobility 12th-century English women Year of birth unknown 11th-century English nobility 11th-century English women 11th-century French nobility 11th-century French women 12th-century French nobility 12th-century French women Daughters of kings